Note that in this verse, J Cole alludes to Jay-Z and Kanye’s hit song Niggas in Paris by using the famous line “ball so hard”, as well as shouting out Jay-Z. However, the verse alludes to the song a little more than that, by having some serious parallels between the first verse of this song, and the first verse of Niggas in Paris.

J Cole – Chris Tucker:
“If real recognize real that’s why it took a motherfucker like Hov to sign me”

Has the exact same flow as

Kanye and Jay-Z – Niggas In Paris:
“What’s 50 grand to a motherfucker like me can you please remind me”

J Cole – Chris Tucker:
“Ball so hard I’m the truth nigga”

is similar to

Kanye and Jay-Z – Niggas in Paris:
“Ball so hard I’m shocked too”

J Cole – Chris Tucker:
“If you a bitch, and I’m a bitch, then I’m Sheryl Swoopes and you Hoopz nigga”

is similar to

Kanye and Jay-Z – Niggas in Paris:
“If you escaped, and I escaped, then you’d be in Paris getting fucked up too”

That shit cray!

He stays fly and stays high! Meaning his clothes are cool and he’s smoking weed.

“Flyer ‘cause I need to be” is likely a way of him saying that as a rapper, and someone in the public spotlight, he needs to look fresh.

Wale likes to floss!

Wale is playing off of J Cole’s catch phrase, “Cole World.”

Also note that the opening to this verse is similar to that of J.Cole’s, hence Wale says “still a cold world”.

The term is used in Cole’s music quite a bit, such as on his song Cole Wold, which was on his album Cole World: The Sideline Story.

Wale was signed onto Interscope, and then eventually MMG. Although Wale is not officially signed to Roc Nation,he’s still managed by the Jay-Z owned record label.

J Cole thinks that he can give a lavish lifestyle to a girl that goes with him. Because baby, she has that body!

Jeezy’s friend who went to jail says that he will simply commit more crimes when he is let out. This is because he “lost the first time,” meaning he was already doomed for life once he committed his first crime.

He won’t stop this cycle until he wins, meaning he will eventually commit a crime that gets him out of the gutter (like successfully robbing a bank).

This line continues the idea in this song that life is a game of chance. Maybe his friend lost his case this time, but next time he might win.

10 – 2 = 8

Jeezy’s friend got arrested and given 8 years in prison. The “soft” eight means that it is 8 years in prison, but has possibility of parole.

It could also be a way of saying that he was caught with 8 ounces of cocaine.

“On your mark, set, go” is a common expression that is used to proceed and subsequently begin any race. Of course, this means a speed race.

However, Cole is using it to allude to the theme of political races, which he talked about quite a bit in this verse.

Obama, like any political race candidate, wants people to spread the word about their campaign, which would include the heavily-followed J Cole to tweet about Obama.

We know Obama is being mentioned in this line by Cole’s allusion to the president in his previous line.

President Obama has been very successful in his use of modern technology for advertisement such as social media i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is not uncommon for President Obama’s twitter account to request followers to re-tweet a comment or discuss a pressing issue.

Tweets by @BarackObama